98 / 1060
R.oyal
Commentaries.
BooK
IIi;
large,
it
hath a mighty fwing and fall
in
the middle; and therefore
they
lore the
Ro~
of the Basket very eafily, and by degrees, untill it comes
to
the
middle
wh).ch
is
the lowefr part
?f
the.Cable ;
~nd
thence by
main
force they draw
it
u~
wards. There are certain
Indians
who live
near
that place, and are
~ppointed
oy
the Countrey for that work, and are very affifiant
and
helpfull to Pafiengers widi.
out
any conhderation of interefr, or payment whatfoever.
Some Paffengers
who
have ufed that kind ofFerry, putting their legs and feet in the basket, have
with.
ouc
other help
than
their armes and hands onely forced themfelves upwards
upon
the Cable.
I
remember, when
I
was
a Boy, that
I
paffed this way three or
four
times ;
but being very young, the
Indians
carried me on their backs ;
in
the
fame
manner they tranfport their Cartel on the other fide ; but
this
is
done
with
much
more trouble : For but few of them can pafs at a time, and thofe of
the
leffer
fort,
fuch
as
Sheep, Goats and Kids, which they cye
faft
within the basket;
and
as for
Mules, Horf
es, Affes or
Cows, they are of
coo
great a burthen
for
this
fort
of Ferry, but are driven about to the great Bridges, or to ihallower places,
where
the River is fordable. This kind of paffage the
Indians
call
Vruga,
and
is
onely
made ufe of by the Countrey people, that have occafion to
pa!S
from one
fide
to the other; but in the great Roads the convenience
is
better.
The
Indians
all
along the Coaft of
Peru,
FHh in
their little Boats made
of
Rufhes, and adventure four or five
Leagues
out at Sea
in
chem, and farther if
-oc–
cafion require ; for that Sea
is
called die Pacifick ,
being
calm
for
the moll: part,.
and
not
fubjelt
to
bad weather ; but
when
they carry
things
of great burchen,
they nfe Floats made of Timber. The Fi!her-men, when they go to Sea, kneel
down in their Boats, and
fit
on their legs, and
fo
row with a Paddle made of
a
large Cane, cleft towards the end ;
for
in that Counrrey they have great Canes,
which are as big as a Man's thigh:, of which we
!hall
treat more largely hereafter.
This Cane they hold ' irh both hand , one being placed at the top, and the other
in the middle; and the end being made broad in the fhape of an Oar, they Row
their Boat•forward ; the Boat being very light, feels every firoke
of
the Oar,
and
turns,
then they change the hand to the other fide; and
fo
fhift
it
over
again,
which
moves the Boat with an incredible fivifme!S.
Then for their Fifhery,
rhen they go
to
take great Fi(h, they ufe a Fifgig
in
the fame manner as they flrike
Wh les
with in
Biftay.
To this Fifgig,
which
is
a
fharp Spear
at d1e
end of a
Staff,
they fafien a line of about
20,
30
or
40
fathom
in
length, the end of which they eye to the head of the Boat; the Fifh being {hook,
the
Jndja.n
ears his Line, and gives
him
Rope
as
fall:
as he can; and when he hath
given
it
all
out, he then. plays with the
FHh until!
it
is
quite tired ; and
fo.
ma–
fieriog it, they cake it, and fome of them are of an incredible bigneG. They
Fifh
alfo with
Nets
and Hooks; but they make no great matter of their
Fifh-
. ing
in
that
manner ;
for
their N ets being fm
1l
and manageable by one
Man,
can
never inclof
e
any number ; and their Hooks
eing
ili
made, not knowing
the
ufe of Steel or Iron, they take very few with that Art;
for
though~
they have
Mines of both Metals, yet
they
know not how to feparate and purifie the Ore :
Their Boats ofRufhes are not able to bear Sail, becaufe they have no Keel, nor
hold in the water, and
perhaps
make better\'
y ''
ith
a
Paddle, than with a Sail;
rhc;mgh
on their Floats made ofWood, they
{et
up a
Sail,
which ferves them be·
fore the
Wind.
Thefe are the
Arts
which the
Indians
have invented
for
making fhort Voyages
on the Seas, and
for paffing
fwift and
rap~d
currents; the
which
have received
Htde improvement
for
they were in ufe' hen
I
\:vas
there, and believe they
have
ftill continued
in
cne fame manner\ ithout
alteration~
for they being a poor fort
af
miferable people, of mean dejell:ed
f
pirits, follow the old road, not afpiriog
to greater matters,
than
a fupply of their neceffities.
In
the Hifiory of
Floridtt,
the !ixrh
Book, treating there
of
their
Canoes,
we have touched upon their contri–
vances to
Pafs and
Navigate on Rivers, which have
a I\vift
and rapid
current~
fo
that now we fhall not enlarge farther thereupon, but rather proceed to the o–
ther Conquefis of the
Inca, Capac
T11p11nq1ti.